The five of us decided to meet after school on Thursday to discuss a plan for the next day's challenge. It was too complicated to talk about over the phone, and talking at lunch wasn't an option thanks to another group. They somehow managed to sneak into the school at night and glue all the tables and chairs to the floor-- and even the walls. I had to admit it was cool, apart from the fact that it forced everyone to eat lunch in their fourth-period classrooms.

I chose for us to meet at the same coffeehouse as the first challenge-- somewhere not too busy that we couldn't hear our own thoughts, but busy enough that we wouldn't have to worry about being overheard. The only thing I didn't plan for was the seating arrangement. I slid in the booth next to Daniel, and Ian slid in next to me, putting me right in-between the two guys I'd been trying to avoid.

I hadn't been able to get my mind back on track since the janitor's closet. Between Ian's confession and the fact that I liked his confession, no matter how much I tried to deny it, I was at a loss for what to do. I'd spent the past week feeling like the worst person in the world-- I had a boyfriend. And yet, while I sat between the two guys, I knew it wasn't him that was causing my breathing to speed up and my face to flush.

Jade and Roy shimmied into the booth across from us as I placed my journal on the table, flipping to a blank page. It was time to focus on the challenge, not on my soap-opera-esque feelings.

"I guess it's obvious why we had to wait so long for a new challenge," Ian began, pausing to take a sip from the cup of hot tea nestled between his hands. "They want us to embarrass ourselves in front of as many people as possible."

"It doesn't have to be too embarrassing," I started to reason.

"Hell yeah, Mads," Roy interrupted me before I could explain further. He sounded impressed, nodding his head in approval. "Y'know, I've heard this sort of thing can be really liberating."

"I meant whoever does it can wear a mask."

"Oh. Well-- yeah. That works too."

Jade hid a laugh, looking down at her drink, but her smile faded as she raised her head to speak. "Do you guys really think we should do this? The streaker will probably get caught before they even make it halfway down the field-- either by security, Coach Hanks, or a member of the football team."

"And I doubt the punishment will be light," Daniel added. "Administration's gonna want to send a message to the rest of the student body to stop them from competing."

"Well there's only one person streaking, so the rest of us can work to make sure they don't get caught," Ian suggested. "If we prepare well enough, and come up with a plan-"

"Yeah, like how our plan worked so well last time, when Maddie nearly got caught," Daniel countered, turning to Ian. I was stuck right in the middle of their argument, trying to shrink back into the seat as they glared at each other from either side of me. "It's gonna be a lot harder to hide on a lit-up football field, with a bunch of spectators and-"

"Wait--" It was Ian who interrupted this time, nodding as the gears seemed to turn in his head. "That's it-- that's perfect! By halftime, it'll be dark outside. If I shut off the field lights, it'll be a lot easier for the streaker to get away."

"You can do that?" I asked. The idea sounded like it might actually work.

"I'm in charge of doing that at the end of every game, it's part of my job as equipment manager. I still have Coach's keys from before, so anyone of us could do it. We'd just need to make sure no one sees us unlocking the shed."

"It shouldn't be you," I said, mind trying to piece the information together into a plan. "You'd be the most likely suspect, so you should probably be around Hanks when it happens. That way, he won't think you had anything to do with it."

We continued to form our course of action, making lists and diagrams, trying to be even more thorough than last time. Daniel had a point; we did almost get caught. If we wanted any chance of getting out of this thing without blowing our cover, we needed to be as careful as possible.

The sun descended as we worked, planning and replanning, going over things again and again, solving hypotheticals that likely wouldn't even happen, just to be safe. Crumbs and napkins littered our table, evidence of the many muffins and pastries we'd devoured in the past few hours. Our drinks were long gone, and as Jade stretched, covering her mouth as she yawned, I could tell I wasn't the only one who was growing tired despite the caffeine.

"I think the plan is solid," Daniel said, reading over the notes in my hands. "Well, as solid as it can be, anyway. I'm gonna call it a night-- I haven't even gotten to my homework yet, and there's a chem test tomorrow I should study for."

"Alright," I said, understanding. Daniel was in the process of applying to colleges, and he needed to stay on top of his grades. Through the tired fog in my brain, I managed to remember there was one last thing we hadn't covered. "Hold on, we still haven't picked yet."

The others didn't have to guess what I meant- deciding on the streaker was the one thing missing from our plan.

"Well I don't think any of us wants to do it," Ian said, looking around at the suddenly uncomfortable faces of the group, "so how should we decide? Draw straws?"

I watched Jade bite her lip, sinking slightly into the booth. Roy pressed his lips together, eyes trained on the table.

Daniel let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Look, I'm sorry, but you couldn't pay me enough to do that."

"It's fine." Roy gave a casual shrug, but it was stiff, the raise of his shoulder looking awkward and forced. "I'll do it."

Ian's eyebrows raised at the offer. "Are you sure?"

Roy smiled slightly, the ghost of a grimace hidden beneath it. "Sure. I mean, even if I do get caught... people expect this kind of thing from me."

"That's true," I agreed. "Your reputation means people will probably admire you for doing this. The rest of us might not get such a pleasant reaction."

"Besides, you shouldn't even worry about that," Ian assured. "The plan is good-- you won't get caught. No one will know it was you."

Roy took a deep breath, letting it out heavily. "Okay. Well, I should go home and get some sleep then-- I'd like to look my best if I'm gonna be naked in front of hundreds of people." He turned to Jade, asking if she needed a ride home.

Daniel turned to me as he put on his jacket. "I'm gonna head out now too. You want me to take you home?"

I pressed my lips together, knowing I should say yes. I should get in the car, thank him for the ride, and kiss him goodnight. But the truth was, being alone with Daniel only made it more apparent: the things I was supposed to feel when I was alone with him, I felt with someone else.

I needed to be alone for a while to try and clear my head. I shifted my gaze back to the papers in front of me, feigning interest. "It's fine, I think I'll walk home in a bit. I just want to make sure everything's good while I'm still focused."

He nodded, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead before saying goodbye to everyone. Jade and Roy left with him, leaving me and a lingering Ian at the table alone-- not exactly what I had in mind. I stared at the words on the paper, pretending to read. I pretended not to notice as he moved to the other side of the booth, occupying the now empty space and clearing away some of the mess, stacking used plates and brushing away a few crumbs. I pretended like all of my attention wasn't on Ian, like I wasn't forcing myself not to look at him.

"Maddie?"

"Hm?" I looked up from the journal and noticed the way his eyes were cast down before finally meeting mine.

"I wanted to apologize before leaving." His hands fidgeted on the tabletop, short nails picking at the skin around his fingers. "I realized I probably crossed a line by saying that stuff in the closet, and I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything, I just- I thought you should know that I like you. I wanted you to know. And I respect that fact that you're in a relationship-"

"It's okay," I interrupted, shrugging as I tried to ignore the heat making its way up to my cheeks at the mention of his feelings for me. "You didn't make me uncomfortable, just... surprised"

"I don't suppose you've thought about what I said at all?" His eyes flicked between me and the table. He looked nervous, and yet I still felt like he could see right through me, like the answer was written all over my face.

"Thought about it?"

He just nodded, not explaining himself any further. What a dumb question-- Of course I'd thought about it. It had been all I could think about for the past week. It was driving me insane and I was beginning to feel like it was all I'd be able to think about for the rest of my life. His confession had made my brain nothing more than a broken record, repeating his words and all the questions that came along with them.

I watched his eyes move down to my lips and felt my stomach lunge. This had to stop. "No, I haven't."

"Oh." He nodded, eyes back to mine, expression hard to read. "Okay. Well, maybe you could do me a favor and just... think about it."

I sighed. If I thought about it any more, I would explode. "And why would I do that?" I asked, the reminder that I had a boyfriend hidden beneath the question.

"If you think about it, you can let me know. Whichever way you feel about what I said-- good or bad-- you can tell me, and it'll get rid of this... tension."

"I don't have any tension," I countered.

A slow smile stretched over his lips. "I was talking about myself."

I blushed, my defensiveness now feeling like some kind of admission. "Ian, I'm not going to think about it."

"Because of Daniel?"

"Yes, because of Daniel. My boyfriend. You know, for someone who just said they respect my relationship status, you're not really acting like it."

"That... Okay, that's fair." He nodded slowly, eyebrows raising at my words. "You're right. I apologize, for the second time. And that should probably be my cue to go."

He slid out of the booth, hesitating once he stood. "You sure you want to walk home? I can give you a ride. I won't bring it up anymore-- promise."

I sighed, thinking about the long walk back to my house. I wanted to clear my head, but thanks to Ian sticking around, I didn't think even a walk across the country would be able to help with that. "Well... sure, since you're offering. Thanks."

We headed out to the parking lot and into his truck, which I realized I was becoming quite familiar with thanks to the competition. I guess the same thing could be said for Ian himself, and every other member of our group-- this contest had brought us together, and whether we realized it or not, we were developing some kind of bond due to it all.

The ride was quiet except for the radio playing lowly, filling the car with soft country music. It didn't take long to get to my house, which I was thankful for-- I was beyond ready to go to sleep. I thanked Ian and headed up to my door, hoping I wouldn't be up half the night thinking about our conversation.

I put my key into the lock just as Ian called my name. I turned to see him heading up the porch, where he stopped in front of me.

"You forgot this." He held out my journal, the blue cover crowded with doodles I'd drawn while bored in class.

"Oh, thank you-- I would've gone crazy if I couldn't go over the plan again in the morning," I admitted, taking it from him.

"I figured," he said, laughing a bit. His eyes trailed to the side and he stepped closer as one of his hands came up, just barely finding its way into my hair. "You've got a leaf."

"Oh." I blushed, ducking my head a bit as he removed it from my hair, the feeling of him lightly pulling at the strands sending a shiver down my spine. When I looked back up to meet his eyes, I saw them on my lips again.

Butterflies weren't just in my stomach, they were under my skin, everywhere. The air around us seemed to buzz, surrounding us and blocking out everything else.

Ian's hand moved, fingers lightly resting on my neck, thumb on my cheek. His skin was so warm compared to the late autumn air, it felt like I could melt into him. I was paralyzed, except that wasn't it-- I didn't want to move. I wanted to stay there in that feeling for as long as possible.

My will broke and I looked to his lips, my natural urge somehow prevailing over my mind, which knew I should push him away. He leaned in closer, our faces now barely inches apart. My breath was stuttering, heart pounding in my chest. I knew he could probably feel my pulse against his fingertips, faster and stronger than I could ever hope to make an excuse for.

This was my admission. This was the undeniable proof of what I'd been trying to deny.

I shook my head, placing my hands against his chest and lightly pushing him away before it was too late. But it was too late-- so we hadn't kissed, it didn't matter. I'd been kissed so many different ways, so many different times, and yet none of them had come close to this.

We stood in silence for a few seconds, my hands hovering on his chest as I took in a shaky breath. "I shouldn't have done that."

What it was that I had done, I wasn't exactly sure. But it was wrong, I knew that. To feel this way about Ian, to be close to him and lean into his touch, to let it get that close to being something much worse, it was wrong.

"It's my fault," he said, voice raspy and low. His hand fell from my face as he stepped back.

"You're not the one who almost cheated."

My stomach sunk further at the realization. Almost? Just because there was no kiss didn't mean it wasn't cheating. I was no better than Kendall.

So it was just an embrace, an almost-kiss-- wasn't it cheating all the same? On Daniel, who always treated me decent, who always assured me that Kendall was an ass for what he did to me.

I cursed, feeling a lump begin to form in my throat.

"I'm sorry," Ian apologized, somehow making me feel even worse.

I couldn't meet his eyes. "I have to tell him."

"I know."